Calyptra

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Cladus: Macroheterocera
Superfamilia: Noctuoidea

Familia: Erebidae
Subfamilia: Calpinae
Tribus: Calpini
Genus: Calyptra
Species: C. albivirgata – C. aureola – C. bicolor – C. canadensis – C. capucina – C. centralitalica – C. dubiosa – C. eustrigata – C. fasciata – C. fletcheri – C. gruesa – C. hokkaida – C. imperialis – C. intensiva – C. labilis – C. lata – C. minuticornis – C. novaepommeraniae – C. nyei – C. ophideroides – C. orthograpta – C. pallida – C. parva – C. pseudobicolor – C. sodalis – C. striata – C. subnubila – C. thalictri
Name

Calyptra Ochsenheimer, 1816

Calyptra orthograpta

The genus Calyptra is a group of moths in subfamily Calpinae of the family Erebidae. They are a member of the Calpini tribe, whose precise circumscription is uncertain but which includes a number of other fruit-piercing or eye-frequenting genera currently classified in Calpinae.[1]

Etymology

The common name of many of these species, vampire moth, refers to the habit that they have of drinking blood from vertebrates. According to a recent study, some of them (C. thalictri) are even capable of drinking human blood through skin.[2][3] However, the moths are not thought to cause any threat to humans.[4]

Some species of this genus have been classified with genus name Calpe, and they include more than one blood-sucker.
Description

Palpi porrect (extending forward), where the second joint and third joint fringed below with very long hair. The frontal tuft is large, with the metathorax having only very slight tufts. The abdomen features coarse hair on the dorsum; the tibia is spineless, but slightly hairy. The forewings have slightly arched costa. The apex is acute, with the outer margin excurved at vein 3. The inner margin is lobed near the base and at the outer angle. The larvae of the Calyptra moth have three pairs of abdominal prolegs.[5]
Habitat

The Calyptra moth has been observed as changing its habitat in recent years; the species Calyptra thalictri was originally native to Malaysia, the Urals and southern Europe,[6] but has been found in northern Europe. In 2000, they were observed in Finland and in 2008 they were seen further west in Sweden. The Swedish observation was in Skutskär, north of the capital of Stockholm,[4] whilst the sightings in Finland have been more numerous. It is found in southern Finland, in particular in the south east.[7]

The moth Calyptra thalictri has been seen to be associated with the plant meadow-rue.[8]
Penetrating skin

Insects piercing the skin of mammals are familiar in creatures such as mosquitoes, but the moth uses a specially developed proboscis to penetrate the skin of animals, such as buffalo. A species in Malaysia was observed using its hollowed out proboscis which is divided into two halves. The insect rocks the proboscis from one side to the other, applying pressure until it pierces the skin. It then uses a rocking head motion to drill the tube deeper into the skin. The blood pressure of the victim supplies power to raise hooks on the proboscis to ensure the insect is not easily detached.[9] Only male moths exhibit this ability, unlike mosquitoes, where the female is the one that drinks blood.

It is thought that the moth's ability to pierce animal skin and drink blood may have sprung from an earlier ability to pierce fruit in search of juice.[4] Human skin penetrated in this way may turn red and be sore for several hours leaving an itchy rash. Despite the bite being more severe than that of a mosquito, the moths do not pose a risk to humans.[7]

Although it has been reported that moths have bitten humans in Asia, it was not until the summer of 1999 that a Russian scientist, Vladimir Kononenko, observed that this species of moth was capable of filling its stomach with human blood.[7]
Species

Calyptra albivirgata Hampson, 1926
Calyptra bicolor Moore, 1883
Calyptra canadensis Bethune, 1865 – Canadian owlet moth
Calyptra eustrigata Hampson, 1926
Calyptra fasciata Moore, 1882
Calyptra fletcheri Berio, 1956
Calyptra gruesa Draudt, 1950
Calyptra hokkaida Wileman, 1922
Calyptra imperialis Grünberg, 1910
Calyptra lata Butler, 1881
Calyptra minuticornis Guenée, 1852
Calyptra nyei Bänziger, 1979
Calyptra ophideroides Guenée, 1852
Calyptra orthograpta Butler, 1886
Calyptra parva Bänziger, 1979
Calyptra pseudobicolor Bänziger, 1979
Calyptra subnubila Prout, 1928
Calyptra thalictri Borkhausen, 1790)

References

Calpinae Archived September 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, in Wikispecies, accessed 20 October 2008
article Archived July 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, epl.ee, Estonian, accessed 20 October 2008
Picture of thumb being pierced Archived November 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Worlds weirdest moths, accessed 20 October 2008
Vampire moth turns up in Sweden Archived November 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Peter Vinthagen Simpson, The local, 29 July 2008, accessed 20 October 2008
Hampson, G. F. (1894). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II. Vol. Moths - Vol. II. Taylor and Francis – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Vampire moth turns up in Finland Archived March 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 4 June 2007, accessed 20 October 2008
Blood-sucking vampire moth becoming more common in Finland Archived August 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Helsingin Sanomat, 5 June 2007, accessed 20 October 2008
"Calyptra thalictri (Borkhausen, 1790)". Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa. Retrieved January 13, 2018. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
Our Amazing World: Wonders hidden below the surface[permanent dead link] By Avrohom Katz, p, ISBN 0-89906-313-6, accessed 20 October 2008

Type species: Phalaena thalictri Borkhausen, by subsequent designation of Duponchel 1826: 3
Synonyms

Calpe Treitschke, 1825
Hypocalpe Butler, 1883
Percalpe Berio, 1956

References

Lafontaine, J.D. & Schmidt, B.C. 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. Zookeys 40: 1–239. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.40.414 Reference page.
Snyder, J.L., Zilli, A. & Zaspel, J.M. 2020. Evidence for the dissolution of the Calyptra minuticornis novaepommeraniae (Strand) and C. minuticornis minuticornis (Guenée) sub-species distinction (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Erebidae). Insect Systematics & Evolution 51: 784–809. DOI: 10.1163/1876312X-00001010. Paywall. Reference page.
Zaspel, J.M. & Branham, M.A. 2008. World Checklist of Tribe Calpini (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Calpinae). Insecta Mundi 0047: 1-15. Reference page.
Calyptra Ochsenheimer, 1816 – Taxon details on National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Catalogue of Life - 2012